Thursday, September 21, 2006

2nd Audition

Today Z had her second audition for this week. Yesterday she had an audition for a Disney commercial and today it was for a Mattel print ad.

Earlier today I wrote about some frustrations with math. On the way to the audition this afternoon I talked with Z about the process some and I think she has a better idea now.

I realized today that I am very spoiled with Z. I often don't have to "teach" her anything. I just tell her something once or she reads it herself and she knows and understands it.

I feel kind of bad because I realize I didn't really teach her how to do those types of problems . I guess I thought she would just figure it out on her own or would at least instantly understand it when I explained it to her the first time. :( Now I feel like a jerk for having that kind of expectation. My excuse is that that is how things usually go.

Like in science, Z will watch a video on Brainpop, which has content aimed at 3rd - 12th graders, and Z will watch a video on the 12 systems of the human body or body chemistry and then take the online quiz at the end and get maybe two wrong because she wasn't paying attention - like she will forget what Lipids are or what the endochrine system is. But otherwise she gets all the answers correct even though the information was totally new to her.

I know some kids can comprehend complex maths without anyone teaching it to them. I think Pere is like that. But for Z, at least for this topic right now, she needs me to explain things more. There is nothing wrong with that and again I have to state that I do feel like a dope for not realizing that I should be spending more time explaining some of these math concepts to her.

p.s.
I have updated the "Z's Reading" links.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

You aren't a dope! It is so easy to forget that some subjects need directed teaching, especially when they are a fairly basic concept beneath the level the child is already operating on. It is also hard to remember this when you have a child who picks things up very quickly, or even automatically, most of the time.

Rose is also very good at learning on her own. Infact I sometimes think I would be far more sensible to just unschool, especially since Rose hates being taught by other people and so we sometimes clash during lessons if I pitch them at the wrong level or tempo.

And I must admit one thing I have a problem with is expecting too much from Rose sometimes. I think because she has such-and-such an IQ she should be able to work out various problems or perform to a certain level. I really have to watch myself over that one!

Congratulations on the audition, by the way. I hope it goes well! It must be tremendous fun for Z.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Z!